Online registration for the 2019 Portland Dragon Boat Festival is now open. This will be our thirteenth year of racing at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in beautiful downtown Portland, Oregon and we're looking forward to another fun-filled weekend of competitive dragon boat racing!

Early Bird Discount!An additional USD 50.00 will be automatically deducted from the above registration fees if registered on or before June 1, 2019.

Registration will be capped at 72 teams (40 mixed, 32 women) or willotherwise close on August 9, 2019.

Please click here for more information and to register online. All teams must to register online, even if they plan to pay by check (an option to mail in payment is available with the online registration).

BracketsA complete race schedule and race brackets by division are attached to this email and posted online. Please contact us immediately if you see any errors or have any concerns.

A few words about our boats, lane assignments, and advancements… 1. All boats used for racing have been recently washed, weighed and weighted to IDBF standards (within 10kg of one another). Please do not remove or interfere with any of the weights that may be strapped in the boats. It may be considered unsportsmanlike conduct that may result in disqualification from the races.2. Teams have been pre-seeded and distributed accordingly among the first race heats, but they have been randomly assigned to a lane for that first race (i.e., pre-seeding will not be taking into consideration to placing top-seeded teams into the center lanes).3. After the first race, teams will automatically advance to the next race and lane based on their performance in the previous race.

Advancements will continue to work the same as they always have for this race. Brackets and advancements will be posted after each round of racing.1. Advancement to race 2 (Saturday afternoon) is based on place of finish in race 1.2. Advancement for race 3 (Sunday morning - semi-finals) is based on the cumulative place from races 1 and 2 with time as a tiebreaker.3. Advancement to race 4 (Sunday afternoon - finals) is based on place of finish in race 3.

On Sunday, medals for EVERYONE will be available to teams approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the race unless all teams arrive together and represent that no protests will be filed.

Specialty RacesPlease double-check your participation in these, especially those signed up for the open race. We have a number of teams who checked the box to register for this race but have not paid the $100 fee to participate. Expect an email this week confirming your participation and pairings if you have not told us already.

2000m RacesThe women’s 2000m Race Around the Bridges will again be run on Saturday after the mixed racing concludes; the mixed race will be run on Sunday. On Saturday, once the women’s division has concluded for the afternoon, a representative from your women’s team should check the seeding from the women’s races (to be posted at and near the Command Center) and should advise the race officials at the Command Center whether or not your team plans to participate in the 2000m Race Around the Bridges (if your team qualifies) or if you would like to be placed on the alternates list if someone ahead of you opts out. On Sunday, mixed teams in the A Division should similarly advise the officials at the Command Center if they would like to participate before the lunch break; otherwise, entries will be offered to the next-highest qualifying teams that have placed themselves on an alternates list.

University CupNew in 2018! We’re going to open up online registration starting on Thursday at 8:00 a.m. for individual paddlers to register for composite teams representing their schools (active students or alumni)! We’re thinking it will be mostly Oregon and Washington schools represented, but a drop-down list on the registration form will allow you to enter any school and who knows what will happen? On-site registration will also be available at the Command Center until 5 boats of paddlers are full. Tell your teams and we will be publicizing this more on Facebook in the coming days.

MarshalingTeams will be called to marshaling 15-20 minutes before the published time for their heat. That means Heat #1 will be marshaling pretty much right after the Pre-Race Meeting on Saturday. In the unlikely event that we get ahead of schedule, we will not slow down to catch up unless we are running more than 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

Please note that we are planning to start racing at 8:30 a.m. on both days!

We hope our PA system is loud enough for everyone to hear, but we know it’s a big area with a lot going on. We again plan to have a visual aid (really big numbers) posted by the Command Center which will tell you what heat is currently marshaling. If you don't have a clear view of the marshaling numbers from your tent, make sure someone on your team is paying attention as to when you should be at marshaling. You should be wrapping up your warm-ups and ready to head over to the marshaling area when the heat before you is posted/called. We are not planning on doing any kind of organized pre-marshaling but will change that if teams are consistently tardy. (Please don't make us do that.)

Other stuff:

1. Race Program. We're using an online-only program again this year. QR codes will be posted at your tents or bookmark this link now - http://www.portlanddragonboats.com/race-program.html - which should work on your mobile devices. If you need a paper copy of anything (race grids, tent maps), just ask at the Command Center.

2. Race Results. We'll be posting race results online as soon as we're posting them on the results bulletin board. We'll also be showing video results adjacent to the Command Center! For the basic info (times, places, advancements), links can be found from our Race Program. Live results with pictures should also be available on our Facebook page.

3. Rosters, Waivers and Check-In. If you have not turned them in already (thank you to the teams that have!), you should be working on completing your rosters and gathering signatures for your waivers. They must be complete and submitted to us (via email before Friday preferred), before you can race! Please use the Add/form for changes after your rosters have been submitted.

Even if your forms are emailed to us, we’re asking for all team captains to check-in at the Command Center (located on the south end of Waterfront Park, across from the RiverPlace Hotel) on Friday or before the Pre-Race Meeting on Saturday. No, we don't do wristbands at this race, but we do have other fun stuff to give you. The Command Center will be open for check-in on Friday afternoon from approximately 12:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. and we will be there and ready to check teams in as early as 6:30 a.m. on Saturday.

4. Pre-Race Meeting. All team captains and steerspersons must attend the Pre-Race Meeting on Saturday. We will also hold a more informal and optional Pre-Race Meeting Sunday morning for anyone who has questions/concerns about what transpired the day before. The Pre-Race Meetings will be located in the Marshaling area adjacent to the Command Center at 7:30 a.m. both days.

5. Tent Assignments. As we told you in our last email, we are providing 10x10 canopies (property of DragonSports USA, please do not take home with you) for all teams. The canopies do not have sidewalls, but we are putting up fencing behind the tents to deter those passing by from entering your tents. Please do not move or cross over the fencing.

We've attached a map that generally depicts where all teams are in relation to one another in the park (also available online). Tents 1-51 are planned to be on the outer circle, tents 52-68 are planned to be in the center of the bowl.

As a reminder, teams may not switch tent spaces without approval from the Race Director.

There will be security on-site overnight, but you should plan to take most of your belongings home with you at the end of each day. Many teams do leave up canopies (please lower them overnight), tables, and signs without incident, but we cannot be responsible for any damage, theft or other loss if something happens to them overnight. DragonSports-supplied tents and fencing will be taken down as soon as racing is complete on Sunday, we ask that you pack up your belongings as well before heading to the Beer Garden.

6. Fundraising. Please keep in mind that our race rules have a few restrictions regarding fundraising activity at the race venue. The full text of the Race Rules is available online, but if you don't read them all (and really, you should read them all), just know that we ask that you notify us if your team will be fundraising and the nature of your fundraising activities. We don't want you competing with our vendors.

7. Lodging. DragonMax has a couple of extra rooms at the Marriott that they won’t be using and will release tomorrow (Tuesday). Please email Linda Lee if you would like them transferred to you instead.

8. First Aid. Finally, a big shout out to our sponsor, Kaiser Permanente, for staffing our First Aid tent (located adjacent to the Command Center) this weekend. Though the basics will be provided here, we still recommend that each team bring their own first aid kit to this and every event to cover your team’s specific needs.

Thanks for sticking with us to the end of this email. We’re sure some of you have questions, so fire away and we will try to respond in a timely fashion or send your email on to someone who can! See you this weekend!

DRAGON BOAT PADDLERS TO COMPETE AT THE 2018 PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL DRAGON BOAT RACE AT WATERFRONT PARK

The race will be held on September 8 and 9, 2018 at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Sixty six teams comprised of 2,000 paddlers from across the US and Canada will compete in competitive and recreational race divisions.

(Portland, OR) The 2018 Portland International Dragon Boat Race will be held on Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9, 2007 in the “Bowl” area of Tom McCall Waterfront Park just south of the Hawthorne Bridge.

Dragon boats are of Chinese historical influence, reaching back 2,300 years. Dragon boats are 45 feet long with a dragonhead on the bow and a tail on the stern. Twenty paddlers follow the pace of the drummer and are steered by a steersman, racing 500 meters.

The race is produced by DragonSports USA, a Portland non-profit organization with 2,500 members that paddle recreationally and competitively throughout the year. The teams at this year’s race include the Golden Dragons, a “55 years-old or older” team with an average age of 72 years; Blind Ambition, the nation’s only non-sighted team; and several cancer survivor teams including Portland’s Pink Phoenix Breast Cancer Survivor team.

The races will begin Saturday morning at 9:00 am. The Portland Fire Department is planning on saluting the opening of the race with their fireboat spraying water high into the sky along the race course.

The Public is invited to this event which will offer a variety of ethnic food vendors, a Beer Garden and espresso beverages. Dragon Boat Paddling is the ultimate team activity in which almost everyone of any physical ability can participate. An Information Booth will be on site providing suggestions on how to join a Dragon Boat team, costs and equipment involved.

Hello and welcome to the 2018 Portland Dragon Boat Festival! Hard to believe that the races are just three weeks away.

If you’re receiving this email, it’s because you registered your team. We also have a list of additional contacts that you may have provided and they're getting this email too. If anyone else needs to be receiving emails, please forward this to them and/or let us know who they are so we can include them in future communications.

We're working hard to get everything in order for another great weekend of racing. We have 66 Registered Teams (30 women, 36 mixed), and a tentative Schedule of Racing has been posted to our website this weekend. We will likely be making updates to the schedule for the Specialty Division races as we confirm participation over the next couple of weeks and we will have a final schedule out with the brackets the weekend before the race in early September, but don’t expect it to change too much from what we’ve put up online.

Thank you for reducing the amount of paperwork on our end by registering online. Now is the time to start assembling your Roster/Waiver Form and getting it signed by your teammates. After trying out an online roster and waiver system the past couple of years, we have decided to go back to a paper form... it's a lot less headache on our end until we can find a better online solution. We have attached a copy of the Roster/Waiver Form to this email and it is also posted online, with all of the other forms you may need for the weekend. Once your Roster/Waiver Form is complete, you may scan it in and send it back via email or bring it with you to the race venue on Friday, September 7th or, at the very latest, before the Pre-Race Meeting on Saturday. We do check to make sure these are all complete before letting you race, so if you can send them in early, it would help us tremendously. If you need to make changes after you submit your Roster/Waiver Form (or even after you've started gathering signatures), please use the separate Add/Delete Form, also attached. Minors and those that cannot sign the team signature page should use the Individual Waiver Form (attached). Please review the Roster/Waiver Form for instructions on preparing your Roster using Individual Waiver Forms.

As in prior years, we will be running 4-boat heats with two 500m seeding races on Saturday, and two guaranteed 500m races on Sunday (semi-finals then finals/consolation races). In addition to all of this, we have Specialty Division races plus our 2000m Races Around the Bridges.

What’s a Specialty Division race? We have eight of them, and it’s not too late to register for them if you haven’t already (subject to available space). The cost is $100 per division (the Corporate Cup, which carries additional promotional oppportunities, is $200). Teams are permitted to pair with other teams to fill boats for these races, but please only have one team register and pay the $100 (all participants must be rostered with a registered team). Here’s the rundown and the requirements for each and who has already registered/paid (please note that I've been on vacation the past two weeks, so if you have mailed payment, I will be checking the PO Box this week). No need to confirm unless your plans have changed.

Women’s Grandmasters Race – all paddlers must be women 50 years of age and older.

Golden Dragons Women (PAID)

Kent Ladies of the Lake (PAID)

Mixed Grandmasters Race – all paddlers must be 50 years of age and older with at least ten female paddlers

DragonMax (PAID)

Golden Dragons

Wasabi Grandmasters Mixed (PAID)

Women’s Masters Race – all paddlers must be women 40 years of age and older.

Amazon Dragons (PAID)

Bridge City (PAID)

Desert Dragons (PAID)

DragonMax Women (PAID)

FCRCC Saggin Dragons (PAID)

Seattle Flying Fire Dragons

Starbucks SAKE Women (PAID)

Mixed Masters Race – all paddlers must be 40 years of age and older with at least ten female paddlers

Bridge City (PAID)

DragonMax (PAID)

Kent Dragin' Tails (PAID)

Junior Race - All paddlers must be between 14 and 18 years of age, inclusive.

Wasabi Kraken (INCLUDED)

Zamboanga Aquarockets (INCLUDED)

Corporate Race - The team should be named after a sponsoring corporation. It is desired, but not required, that team members be employees of or otherwise affiliated with the sponsoring corporation as well.

KP Thriving Dragons (SPONSOR)

Starbucks Club SAKE (PAID)

Starbucks Waverunners (PAID)

Cancer Survivors Race - All paddlers should be cancer survivors and at least 14 years of age. Based on agreement of the participating teams, all paddlers must be women.

You may bring your own water, but we will have bottled water at the race site for all participants. Please remind everyone to bring a refillable/reusable water container (we will also have some race logo water bottles for sale) to cut down on waste.

We are again providing all teams with 10x10 canopies (property of DragonSports USA, please do not take home with you). The canopies will be staked and this is your assigned location. You may set up additional canopies, but please do not move from your assigned area. If you are hosting a visiting team, you will be next to each other. If your teams are part of a larger club, you will be next to each other. If you sent in a special request because of shared paddlers, coaching, or the like, you will be next to each other. It's quite the puzzle to figure it all out, so please send any (reasonable) last minute requests to us now.

Speaking of visiting teams, we're finalizing those pairings and will email host/visting teams seperately in the next few days. If any visiting teams would like to practice in our boats on Friday, contactscheduling@dragonsports.org. We know that you've all been in a dragon boat before, even our dragon boats, but if you or your tiller want to check out the boats you'll be racing in all weekend (they're Six-Sixteens, in case you were wondering), let our Scheduler know and we can have someone meet you personally down by the dock that day.

Local teams, we need your volunteer sign-ups this week! As a reminder, local teams must supply at least two volunteers to assist race weekend. You will be getting a separate email from the volunteer coordinators if we don't have your two volunteers, but here are the instructions to pass on:

2) Review the options listed and select "Sign Up" next to the spot(s) you like.

3) Click "Submit and Sign Up" at the bottom.

4) On the next page, you will be prompted to log in or create a SignUpGenius account. You do not need to create an account, but it is recommended that you do so if you need to make changes later.

5) Please complete the form as best as you can and please be sure to let us know if you do not see your team listed so we can go back and edit our form. Some fields are mandatory.

Finally, just a reminder that the safety of our paddlers on and off the water is our top priority, thus we ask that all participants understand and abide by the Race Rules published on our website. Please take time to review (or re-review, as the case may be) them before race weekend. To ensure that all participants have a rewarding and competitive experience, our second priority will be fairness—we hope that all participants walk away from this race satisfied with how it was conducted. With these two goals in mind, please bear with us if extra time is required to maintain safety and fairness.

That's it for now! Please let us know if you have any questions and we will be in touch with more details soon!

​DragonSports is accepting bids to operate the Portland Dragon Boat Festival Beer Garden. Any organization that is interested in running the Beer Garden needs to fill out the Application in the Request for Proposal and return it to president@dragonsports.org by 5:00 p.m. on April 8, 2017.

Portland has moved into the yellow (moderate) though the AQI still says that current conditions may be unhealthy for sensitive groups. But air quality has been, and is predicted to, only get better going into the weekend.

We will continue to monitor the air quality index and forecast for any significant changes and do what is best for the safety of our participants. If teams and/or individual participants are concerned about the air quality, we will try to be accommodating as possible vis-à-vis your registrations and rosters. Finally, please be sure to communicate to a Race Official or the First Aid tent if you or anyone on your team is experiencing negative symptoms on race day.

Again, thank you all for your patience as we worked through this environmental concern.

Just another update. I think a lot of people are breathing easier today. The air quality is still “unhealthy,” but it is improving. It is still hard to say how much it will improve before this weekend, but we are optimistic at that it will drop back down to moderate levels tomorrow:

That being said, it has come to our attention that the Marriott hotels have a new 48-hour cancellation policy instead of the 24-hour policy that many of us are used to. We still have no plans cancel the Festival, but we understand that some teams may wish to change their travel plans if we do. We will offer whatever kind of refund that we can, or significant discount on next year’s registration, if teams are concerned about the air quality and want to cancel their registration now. Unfortunately, we cannot tell you what that number will be until after we know what our final expenses are, which will probably not be for a few more weeks.

More tomorrow. There is a chance of rain overnight and we are hoping for the best!

We have received a number of inquiries today about the air quality situation in Portland and the upcoming Portland Dragon Boat Festival. Due to particulate matter from the nearby Eagle Creek fire, the air quality in Portland is currently considered unhealthy.

The forecast for this week looks somewhat promising with shifting winds, cooler temperatures, and a chance of showers Wednesday night through Friday. We know that a number of you are coming from out of town, however, and are looking for guidance before this weekend as to whether the event will be cancelled. We will make that call no later than noonon Thursday.

At this time, we have no plans to cancel the Festival and are moving forward with our preparations as usual. We are keeping a close eye on the air quality index and that, coupled with the weather forecast, will guide our decision. Your health and safety is our number one priority.

In the event that we do need to cancel, we will make sure to compensate all teams as best as we can. Please understand that a number of our expenses have already been incurred and/or are not completely refundable. DragonSports is a nonprofit organization and needs to cover the bulk of its expenses, which for this event are paid for mainly by your registration fees, to be able to offer you races again in the future.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Please contact us with any further questions or concerns and stay tuned for periodic updates.

​By popular request, we're offering everyone the ability to pre-order plus size men's and women's race apparel this year. Please email PdxDragonStuff@gmail.com with your orders by August 30th. The sizes should run true to size this year (not snug like last year). All sizes will be available at the merchandise tent race weekend, but we always have requests for more plus size merchandise and want to make sure to order enough this year!

All team contacts should have received links to create/edit Team Rosters from Google in the past week.

It is easiest to view/edit this document on a computer. If you need to access it on your phone or tablet you'll likely need to download and install the Google Sheets app if you don't have it already. If you are unable to access this document for any reason, please let us know and we will work with you.

To get started, please add your team members' names to the Roster and use the drop down arrows in the "Role" column to select if they are a paddler, caller/drummer, or tiller/steer. If someone fills more than one role for your team, please just select their primary role. Some fields are protected from editing by you and you should not add any more rows.

As you complete your Roster, please have everyone you expect to participate complete an electronic waiver:

We will periodically update the greyed out "Waiver Completed" column to let you know who has completed the electronic waiver. Please have everyone complete their waivers as soon as possible, but no later than September 1.

If your roster is full and you need to delete someone who has already had a waiver verified and add another, please use the Add/Delete form on the second tab to alert us of replacement(s) since you may not be able to clear the waiver verification column. After September 1, the Roster tab may be locked for editing and you will have to make any additions or deletions using the Add/Delete form.